Electrostatic copiers have an exposure station where an original of which a copy is to be made is imaged upon a photoreceptive surface or the like.
There are generally three types of exposure stations in electrostatic copiers, a reciprocating platen, flash exposure, and moving optics. This invention is directed to those copiers that use moving optics. In moving optics, a light and mirror for reflecting the light onto a platen are secured to a carriage which is conveyed across the underside of the platen and returned to a home position. There are a number of requirements for such a system including guiding the carriage along a uniform path, having the carriage return to the home position faster than it scanned the platen, and having the system compact so that it will not result in a bulky copier. The instant invention is directed to such a moving optical system.